The Serpentine Plot
by Xccj
Summary: Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane have become a formidable Ninja team, thanks to their training and Golden Weapons, but they still don't know who the Green Ninja is. Their skills will be put to test when they have to face the Serpentine, who have something sinister planned. Written for a contest theme where Lloyd was not the green ninja in 2012.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a pleasant day in the land of Ninjago. The sun was high and shining bright, and there was a light breeze blowing through the hills. High up in the air floated Destiny's Bounty, the airship belonging to Sensei Wu and his ninjas. But the ninjas on the ship's deck weren't relaxing and enjoying the weather; instead they were working hard to improve their skills. There was one primary reason for this; the Serpentine tribes were still at large and were a threat to all the good people of Ninjago. The four ninjas trained hard so that the next time they faced Pythor and the other Serpentine, they could defeat them once and for all.

The four ninjas were Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane. Each had been entrusted with one of the four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu, which allowed them to wield elemental powers. In the midst of a fight, the ninjas would use these elemental powers to give themselves the upper hand. Today, however, they were using unpowered weapons as they practiced their skills against training dummies.

There was a whirlwind of activity as the ninjas trained. Kai dashed forward towards one of the training dummies, and slashed at it with his katana, striking a small area that disabled it. Jay was working on a rotating turret of swords as he improved his agility by dodging all the blades. Cole was improving his strength as he lifted heavy barrels and threw them high into the air. Zane took advantage of this and threw shurikens at the moving barrels, striking them dead on.

"Nice one!" Cole said as Zane hit the bull's eye on yet another barrel. "But I bet you can't get this!" He picked up another barrel and threw it directly at Zane. Zane jumped up and over the flying barrel, which continued past him towards Kai. Kai spun around and sighted the incoming object just in time, and quickly slashed at it with his sword, cutting it in two.

"Hey, be careful where you throw things!" Kai said to Cole.

"Not that it really matters," Jay said, jumping over to land next to Kai. "Our reflexes are all so good that we can dodge anything!"

"Ether that, or Cole just can't hit anything to begin with," Kai added.

"Hey, I'd like to see you throw something that heavy," Cole retorted, as he and Zane joined them for a quick rest.

"I must say, we have all improved our skills to the point that we are all very formidable in combat," Zane pointed out. "I daresay we could easily defeat the Serpentine in hand to hand combat."

"Yes, but we need to keep improving!" Kai said. "Otherwise, we'll never know which one of us will become the Green Ninja!"

The other three groaned. Kai was obsessed over the identity of the Green Ninja. Weeks ago, the four ninjas had come across a scroll that foretold a Green Ninja would rise and become the most powerful ninja ever. Naturally, they assumed that it would be one of them, but the question was who?

"I mean, it's clear that I'm going to be the Green Ninja," Kai continued. "After all, I am the fiercest fighter of all of us, and fire is the most important element too."

"Right," Jay said, unconvinced. "Keep telling yourself that and maybe you'll believe it someday."

"If we're going for strongest, then I'm clearly the best candidate," Cole pointed out.

"However, would not the Green Ninja also be the purest among us?" Zane questioned. "In that case, I would be the most likely, since I mediate far more often than the rest of you."

"No, it's me," Jay said. "I'm blue, and that's closer to the color green than the rest of you!"

"That has nothing to do with who turns out to be the Green Ninja!" Kai exclaimed.

The four ninjas broke out in argument, but their conversations ceased as Sensei Wu approached. "And what are we discussing today, young pupils?" he asked. "Surely not about the Green Ninja again?"

The four ninjas bowed their heads. They knew Sensei Wu was reluctant to talk about the Green Ninja and had insisted that they continue their training. And now he had just caught them resting and discussing the forbidden topic.

"We're sorry, Sensei," Kai said. "But… we're just so intrigued as to who the Green Ninja really is. We can't help but speculate."

"Then perhaps it is time to put speculation to rest," Sensei Wu said. "There is one way to indicate who the Green Ninja is, and unfortunately none of you have proven yourselves to be the chosen one."

"What way are you speaking of?" Zane asked politely.

"When the four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu come close to the Green Ninja, they will glow to reveal his presence," Sensei Wu said. "All of you have been in close proximity to the weapons, but none of them have glowed. As such, none of you could be the Green Ninja."

Kai frowned. "But Sensei, that can't be the only way…"

Cole cut him off. "We understand, Sensei. But then, who is the actual Green Ninja?"

"I do not know the answer to the question yet," Sensei Wu said. "But let us drop the topic for now. We are approaching our mail delivery point, and are preparing to land. Please clean up here and meet with the mailman."

The four ninjas complied, and began clearing away their training equipment. As they did so, the Destiny's Bounty began to descend, until it came to rest in a field next to one of Ninjago's major highways.

The four ninjas disembarked and waited next to the road. Just as scheduled, they spotted a bicycle cruising down the road, and the Ninjago Mailman rode forward to meet with them.

"Good, you're here," the Mailman said, pulling out a handful of letters. "I've got a lot for you today."

"Ooh, more fan mail!" Cole said, taking the letters. "Addressed to me… Kai… Zane… me again…"

"I also have this package for Nya," the Mailman said. "Is she not here?"

"My sister's still onboard the Bounty," Kai explained. "I'll take it to her."

"No, I got it!" Jay said, grabbing the package and climbing back aboard the Bounty in haste. It was clear to Kai and the others that Jay had a crush on Nya, and he was willing to go out of his way to spend time with her.

"And finally, here is Sensei Wu's copy of Ninjago Weekly," the Mailman said, handing the newspaper over to the ninjas. "Make sure he gets this."

"Will do," Kai said. "Thanks for the delivery."

"It's all in a day's job," the Mailman said. "As long as I don't have to cycle to the end of the earth to find you. You ninjas sure get around in that airship, and it's not as safe to travel around Ninjago as it used to be."

"You are referring to the Serpentine?" Zane asked.

"Of course!" the Mailman said. "Their attacks are getting worst. And there have been disappearances now too, and we think those snakes are behind it!"

"That is troubling news indeed," Zane said.

"We'll get on that!" Cole promised. "We've been training hard to defeat the Serpentine, and it's about time we finally took them down for good."

"You do that," the Mailman said, getting back on his bicycle. "Now I must be off. More letters to deliver!"

As the Mailman rode off, the ninjas climbed back aboard Destiny's Bounty. "So the snakes are taking hostages now too?" Cole said. "Man, I hate snakes. We've got to stop them!"

"But how?" Zane asked. "We haven't heard of any snake sightings in days. They're lying low, because they know whenever they show up, we go after them."

"And if we don't know where they are, then we can't go and defeat them," Kai added.

"Hey, we might have a lead on them right now!" Jay said, darting forward, following by Nya and Sensei Wu. "Nya got two reports of Serpentine activities going on right now!"

"What, where are they?" Cole asked.

"I found two readings, but they're very far apart," Nya said. "One is in the volcano region north of the Fire Temple. It seems the snakes are doing something in the caves up there. The other is in the canyons south of the Sea of Sand."

"These are the first leads we've had in days, so we must investigate both of them!" Sensei Wu said. "You will need to split up."

"Good idea," Cole said. "Kai, you and Jay go check up on the volcanoes. Zane and I will head down into the desert."

"I can go with you," Nya said. "You'll need all the help you can get."

"No need, sister," Kai said. "We're ninjas; we can handle this ourselves."

Nya frowned, but the four ninjas had already rushed away as they grabbed their golden weapons. Then they jumped off the edge of the Bounty and activated their weapon's special abilities to turn into vehicles. Kai landed on a motorcycle, Zane on a snowmobile, Cole in his Tread Assault, and Jay in a jet. They separated and blasted off towards their destinations.

"Do not fret, Nya," Sensei Wu said. "Your time will come where you shall prove yourself."

"Yes, and maybe that time is today," Nya whispered to herself. She walked over and retrieved the package Jay had given to her. Upon opening it, she pulled out a butterfly sword. Narrowing her eyes, Nya knew what she had to do now.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In a cloud of dust, Cole drove his Tread Assault into the narrow canyon, with Zane right behind him.

"I don't see any snakes around here," Cole said over the intercom.

"According to Nya's report, there were a few Fangpyre sighted in this area," Zane said. "Maybe they are hiding up ahead."

"Then I guess it's our job to scare them out of hiding!" Cole said, and he accelerated down the canyon.

The two ninjas spent ten minutes speeding down the various canyons in the area, but there were no signs of the Serpentine. Cole was just about to give up in frustration when he sighted a flash of red and white down a side canyon.

"Fangpyre, three o-clock!" Cole shouted, turning sharply into the side canyon. Sure enough, there were a couple of Fangpye standing next to their Bite Cycles. As soon as they sighted Cole, they leapt onto their vehicles and took off.

"The chase is on!" Cole exclaimed. He took off down the canyon, but it was so narrow that the wheels of his Tread Assault were scraping the rock walls and slowing him down.

"Let me take the lead," Zane said. Using his elemental ice powers, he created a ramp over Cole's vehicle and took the lead with his narrower snowmobile.

Zane was quickly able to catch up with the Bite Cycles. The Serpentine took notice of him and turned their missile launchers on him. However, their aim was poor, and Zane was able to dodge around their attacks.

The chase finally moved out of the narrow canyon and into a much wider gulley. The Bite Cycles tried to turn sharply and continue down the canyon, but they were moving too fast and slammed into the far wall, knocking the Fangpyre drivers off their vehicles.

Zane was also moving too quickly to make the turn. He jumped off his snowmobile and transformed it back into his Shurikens of Ice. "I do believe you are cornered…" he started to say, but froze in mid-statement as he took in the scene. The new canyon was not empty, and instead Zane found himself facing a small army of Fangpyre Trucks and Battle Mechs.

One of the Serpentine slithered forward, and Zane recognized him as Fangtom, General of the Fangpyre. "Sssso, the ninjassss have fallen into our trap," he said with a hiss. "Ssssurender now!"

He was interrupted as Cole's Tread Assault finally broke out of the side canyon. "Alright, I'm here," Cole said. "What's happening?"

"I do believe we are in over our heads," Zane said simply.

"Get the ninjassss!" Fangtom shouted, and the Mechs and Trucks started to move forward, with weapons at ready.

"I think it's time to fall back," Zane said. "We are greatly outnumbered."

"I don't like to run, but I have to agree with you this time," Cole said. "But not before a parting gift!" He activated his own missile launchers, and fired into the Fangpyre army. The blasts did little damage to the vehicles, but it kicked up enough dust that Cole and Zane were able to turn around and drive off.

"This is not good," Zane said. "They were trying to trap us. They knew we were coming and were prepared for us!"

"Yes, and the others might also be walking into a trap!" Cole said. "We need to regroup and figure out just what the Serpentine are up to!"

Suddenly, something large filled up the valley ahead of Cole and Zane. It was the Fangpyre Wrecking Ball, and it was blocking their escape. Cole tried to brake, but the Wrecking Ball swung forward and slammed into his Tread Assault, causing it to crash into the wall.

Zane avoided the wrecking ball and turned to help Cole, but more Fangpyre Mechs appeared behind the Wrecking Ball, and jumped forward and grabbed the snowmobile. They flung it across the canyon, and the crash knocked Zane out. Meanwhile, the Wrecking Ball continued to smash on the Tread Assault until Cole was unconscious too. With the two ninjas down, their vehicles both transformed back into the Scythe of Quakes and Shurikens of Ice.

Fangtom approached the fallen ninjas with the rest of his Fangpyre army. "Good, they were defeated," he said. "Take their golden weaponssss and resssstrain them. Pythor will be happy to know that all hassss gone according to hissss plan."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jay and Kai walked into the volcanic caves, with weapons at ready. Inside, they found narrow walkways criss-crossing a lake of molten lava. But there was no sign of the Serpentine.

"Maybe they're not here," Jay suggested.

"No way," Kai said. "They must be hiding up ahead. Let's find them."

"Which Serpentine do you think we'll find here?" Jay asked. "Will it be those Hypnobrai with their spinney-eyes, or maybe the Constrictai with their squeezing tails…"

"Or maybe you should just be quiet so they don't hear us coming," Kai snapped.

"Oh, I guess that would be a good idea," Jay said.

"Wait, quiet," Kai said suddenly. "Up ahead, I think I hear something."

The two ninjas slowly moved forward and glanced around a rocky outcropping. In the distance, across a couple of channels of lava, they sighted a small group of Serpentine.

"Got them!" Kai whispered with a grin. "Okay, so we'll take them by surprise and leap over the lava. You take the two on the left, and I'll get the ones on the right."

"Kai, you're talking about leaping over lava!" Jay said. "That's dangerous!"

"Not if I have the Dragon Sword of Fire," Kai said with a grin. "Let's go now and take them by surprise!"

Kai leapt out from behind the rocky outcropping, only to come face to face with a Venomari hiding out on the other side. It was Acidicus, the General of the Venomari. "Surprise!" he said, and then he spat venom right into Kai's face.

"No, no!" Kai shouted, as he started having terrible hallucinations. In his haste, he dropped his Dragon Sword and tried to step back, but Acidicus grabbed him by the arm.

"Where do you think you're going, little ninja?" he asked. "Pythor said he wanted to bring you back to Ouroboros… to have for dinner!"

"Hands off, snake!" Jay shouted. Having seen Kai walk into an ambush, Jay jumped up and over the rocky outcropping and attacked Acidicus from above. He punched him hard in the head, causing Acidicus to lose his grip on Kai. But more Venomari were approaching, and Jay couldn't take them all on. He grabbed onto Kai and tried to make an escape. But the Serpentine had blocked the exit, and they pushed Jay back down a narrow walkway, with hot lava flowing on either side.

"Kai, stay here, and don't fall into the lava" Jay said, as he set down his friend and pulled out his Nunchucks of Lightning. "I'll hold the snakes off!"

The Venomari advanced on Jay, with spears and swords in hand. Jay charged forward, throwing lightning at them from his nunchucks. But there were too many Venomari, and Jay couldn't fight them all. One spat venom towards him, forcing Jay to dodge. But in doing so, his grip on his nunchucks was loosened, and one of the Venomari managed to yank the golden weapon from his grasp.

"Uh oh!" Jay said. But he wasn't going to give up yet. With a battle cry of "Ninjago!" he spun around in a Spinjitzu cyclone, and pushed back a few snakes. But one Venomari swung his spear forward, knocking Jay off balance and breaking his attack. The ninja fell on the ground next to his hallucinating partner.

Behind the other Venomari, Acidicus retrieved the Dragon Sword and Nunchucks of Lightning. "I am taking these back to Ouroboros," he said to the other Serpentine. "If you can't take the ninjas alive, then make sure they never leave these caves again."

His speech was interrupted by a large rumbling, and then a huge chunk of the ceiling caved in and a large mecha dropped in. Acidicus narrowed his four eyes. "It's Samurai X!"

"Samurai X?" Jay repeated. Samurai X was a mysterious warrior who had recently appeared and fought against the Serpentine, and had even helped the ninjas a few times. He was very popular with the civilians of Ninjago, but nobody knew exactly who he was.

The Venomari charged towards the Samurai Mech, but Samurai X ejected out of it and attacked them with a Butterfly Sword. The Venomari tried to spit venom at him, but his face shield protected him again their poison.

Acidicus took note of this, but he wasn't going to stay around long enough and fight it out. As he rushed for the exit with the Golden Weapons, he shouted to his troops, "Rip that mask off his face, and then he'll be vulnerable!"

The Venomari surrounded Samurai X, and although he fought valiantly, he was horribly outnumbered. Jay noticed this, and decided to push forward. He caught one of the Venomari from behind, knocked him down, and stole his sword. He raced to Samurai X's side, and parried an incoming blow from the Serpentine.

"What are you doing?" Samurai X asked in a weirdly robotic voice.

"You might be more popular than us out in Ninjago, but right now you need help," Jay said. "So let's take down some snakes."

The Venomari pressed forward with another attack, and Jay and Samurai X were pushed back towards the lava. Suddenly, one of the Serpentine's spears snagged Samurai X's helmet and knocked it off. Samurai X tried to grab for it, and in doing so had his sword knocked from his hands.

Jay blocked a particularly powerful blow, which knocked him back. He glanced around and saw that he was teetering on the edge of the pathway, and one more step back would knock him into the lava. "Not good!" he said.

Samurai X now stood between Jay and the Venomari, but he was weaponless. "Jay, give me your weapon!" he said. Only now his voice was now higher pitched. Jay glanced up at his comrade and saw the back of long, black hair. "Wait, Samurai X is a girl?" he said.

"You're weapon!" Samurai X repeated.

"Here," Jay said, tossing his sword into Samurai X's hands.

Samurai X narrowed her eyes. "Ninjago!" she shouted, and launched into a Spinjitzu cyclone. The Venomari were not prepared for such a brutal attack, and were knocked back. This was too much for them, and they quickly retreated.

Jay jumped forward as Samurai X stopped spinning. "Wow, that was some pretty awesome fighting you did there…" he started, but was taken aback as he saw her face. "Wait, Nya! You're Samurai X!"

Nya's eyes went wide, as she realized she was no longer wearing her helmet to cover her face. "Um, Jay, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…"

She was interrupted as Jay rushed forward and embraced her. "That was amazing!" he said. "I knew you were athletic, but I never knew you were so good at fight, and you were really good at sword fighting, and you even know Spinjitzu, and you blasted in using that mech… you're so cool!"

"Ug, what's going on," Kai said groggily as he walked forward. He blinked. "Jay, I think I'm still under the Venomari venom. Cause I'm seeing both you and my sister in here…"

"No, she's really here!" Jay said excitedly. "Kai, did you know Nya was Samurai X! And she came in and saved us after the Venomari took you down and…"

"Jay, calm down," Nya said, but she was blushing. "I'm just… well, I'm glad you're not too upset with me."

"Are you kidding!" Jay said. "This makes you so cool now!"

"But you guys never wanted me to come along and fight with you," Nya started.

"That's because I never wanted to see you get hurt," Jay said. "Same with Kai here. But I think it's pretty obvious that you can handle yourself! Right, Kai?"

"Wait, why is Nya here again?" Kai asked.

"I'm glad you two are okay," Nya said. "But we have other things to worry about. The Serpentine set up a trap for us here, and they may have gotten Cole and Zane too."

"And they stole our golden weapons too!" Jay said. "I heard them talking about bringing them to Ouroboros too."

"Wait, those snakes took my sword!" Kai said, enraged. "Let's go get it back!"

"Except we have no way to get there," Jay said sadly. "Our weapons were also our vehicles, remember."

"Maybe we can use my Mech," Nya suggested, pointing towards her Samurai Mech.

"Wait, your Mech?" Jay asked. "Did you build that yourself?"

"Yeah, but it got damaged a bit when I broke in here," Nya admitted. "I'll need to tweak it a bit before we can fly it to Ouroboros."

"You can fight and you're into mechanics!" Jay exclaimed. "You really are the coolest girl ever!"

Nya's blush reddened. "Thanks," she said.

"Enough," Kai groaned. "This talk is worst than the Venomari venom. Let's just repair that mech and get moving!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cole awoke with a groan, and his vision started to return. "Where am I?" he asked.

"The city of Ouroboros, most likely," was Zane's response. He was sitting next to Cole. "Or rather underneath it, in one of their prisons."

"Wait, those snakes took us prisoner?" Cole asked angrily, getting up. "Oh, they're going to pay for this."

"Unfortunately, there is no easy way out," Zane said. "And some have been here long enough to have tried everything."

Cole sat up and looked around, and became aware of the other prisoners that were with them. Most of them were citizens from all around Ninjago, and many looked like they had spent more than a few days in the underground dungeon.

"Are these all the people who have been disappearing?" Cole asked.

"Most likely." Cole turned and noticed the Mailman sitting next to them. "I got kidnapped shortly after I delivered your letters," he explained. "But I was hoping for you ninjas to come rescue us, instead of just joining us down here."

"Oh, we're going to break you all out!" Cole said. "In fact, the Serpentine just made it easier by bringing us here, since now we won't have to make the journey ourselves!"

"But its worst than that," Zane said. "They took our Golden Weapons, and we can't fight back without them."

"Then we'll have to use our other ninja skills," Cole said, rubbing his hands together. "Okay, everybody, gather around, and let's plan a jailbreak."

Above ground, the Serpentine gathered in the stages around the Slither Pit. In the center of the arena stood Pythor, with the other four Serpentine Generals at his side. Piled in front of them were the four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.

"Today is a glorious day for the Serpentine!" Pythor shouted to the rampageous crowd. "We have defeated the ninjas and taken their greatest advantage away from them. Now the Golden Weapons belong to the Serpentine, and we shall use them to punish everyone in Ninjago for imprisoning us!"

The Serpentine hissed and cheered, but they were silenced by the roar of an engine, and a crimson giant dropped from the air and landed on the edge of the arena. It was the Samurai Mech, and out of it jumped Kai, Jay, and Nya.

Pythor narrowed his eyes at the new arrivals. "I thought you said that the ninjas had been taken care of!" he snapped at Acidicus.

"I am as surprised by their arrival as you are!" Acidicus said.

"It sure was a long trip back here," Kai shouted to the Serpentine. "But now we're all rested up and ready to beat some snakes!"

"Hand over the Golden Weapons now," Nya said, drawing her butterfly sword.

"I still can't believe you learned how to fight behind our backs," Kai grumbled, even as he drew his own powerless katana.

"You'd be surprised at how inattentive you guys can be," Nya said.

"Still, I'm just now noticing that we're outnumbered," Jay pointed out, clutching a spear. "Again."

"Except it looks like we're about to receive reinforcements!" Nya said. "Look!"

On the other end of the arena, a group of prisoners burst out of an underground tunnel, led by Cole and Zane. Pythor was beside himself with anger. "How did they escape?"

"We may not have our weapons, but we've still got our ninja skills," Zane said.

"That, and some ninja strength," Cole added. "It didn't take much for me to rip the prison door off its hinges."

Pythor narrowed his eyes. "Very well. But you're not home free yet, ninjas! We still have your Golden Weapons, and we'll beat you down again."

"That sounds like a challenge!" Cole shouted, grabbing a fallen sparring pole. "Ninjas, attack!"

The four ninjas rushed forward towards the Serpentine Generals, and each attacked the one that was holding his Golden Weapon. Jay charged Fangtom, who wielded the Nunchucks of Lightning. With a powerful swing of the nunchucks, Fangtom knocked the spear right out of Jay's hands, and then he aimed to strike down the ninja himself. However, Jay dodged back and forth, and Fangtom missed his mark every time.

Cole attacked Skalidor, the General of the Constrictai, who was holding onto the Scythe of Quakes. Skalidor's swings were slow but powerful, and when Cole tried to parry with his sparring pole, it got snapped in half. Cole stepped back, searching for a new weapon, even as Skalidor advanced forward. Cole sighted a large rock, and used his strength to pick it up with ease and toss it at the Constrictai General. Skalidor just managed to knock the bolder out of the way with the scythe, but before he could go on the attack again, he had to defend against another bolder thrown by Cole.

Acidicus threw his Shurikens of Ice at Zane, who neatly dodged them and returned fire by throwing small stones that struck the Venomari with great accuracy. Kai, meanwhile, was locked in a sword fight with Skales, the Hypnobrai General, who had the Dragon Sword of Fire. Kai was an excellent swordsman, but Skales was exceptionally good with a blade, and held his ground with the ninja.

Pythor was about to go assist his generals when a blade sliced the air in front of him. He turned to see Nya advancing, with her butterfly sword in hand.

"Now, now, I couldn't possibly fight a girl," Pythor said mockingly. "Even I would recognize that as an unfair advantage. Everybody knows girls can't fight."

"Let's test that theory," Nya said, thrusting her sword forward.

Pythor swiftly dodged to the side and drew his own katana. He swung it, and stuck his blade against Nya's. Nya followed up with a wide swing, but Pythor neatly parried her blade. They fought again, and the clang of blade on blade was heard all across the city. But for all Nya's skills with a sword, she couldn't match Pythor's strength. He locked blades with her, and with a quick swing to the side wrenched Nya's sword from her hands and sent it flying through the air.

"Looks like I won…" Pythor started, but Nya was already charging again. She leapt in the air and kicked at Pythor's hand, knocking his blade away as well. She continued with a swift punch to Pythor's neck. Pythor drew up his arms to try and block Nya's attacks, but he was not as skilled in martial arts as she was, and many of her strikes hit home.

Pythor switched tactics and spun around, using his long tail to try and knock Nya down. Nya saw it coming and jumped over it, but this gave time for Pythor to lunge forward and restrain her arms. But Nya wasn't going down that easily, and she kicked up with her legs into a back flip. She broke free of Pythor's grip, sailed above his head, and landed behind him. Before Pythor could even react, Nya kicked him hard in the back, sending him sprawling across the floor of the Slither Pit.

Pythor stood up wearily, and glanced around. The other Generals were also getting pushed back from the ninja's attacks. "Group together," he called. "Attack them as one."

The Serpentine Generals and the ninjas split and regrouped. "Okay, everybody, we're going to need to work together if we want those weapons back," Cole said.

"Perhaps a Tornado of Creation would be a beneficial tactic," Zane suggested.

"Good idea," Kai said. He turned to his sister. "How about joining in? We could use the help."

"You're asking me to be part of the group?" Nya asked with a sly grin.

"I saw you fight, so I know you're pretty good," Kai said. "You might be my littler sister, but you're also just as good as any ninja."

"Nya as a ninja!" Jay said. "Wait... what if Nya's supposed to be the Green Ninja we've been talking about!"

"This probably isn't the best time to talk about that," Kai said, as the Serpentine Generals started to advance.

Cole and Zane, however, were intrigued by the idea. "That is an interesting hypothesis," Zane said. "And with her skills, it holds merit."

"We'll have to see if the Golden Weapons glow around her," Cole pointed out. "But to do that, we'll need to get them back first."

"Alright, let's do this!" Jay said, smiling at Nya. "Ready?"

"I've been ready for quite a while," Nya said. Then, along with the four other ninjas, she cried out "TORNADO OF CREATION!"

The five of them started spinning in Spinjitzu, and their five individual cyclones merged together and formed a large tornado that swept across the arena. The Serpentine Generals tried to retreat, but they were quickly caught up in it. The next thing they knew, they were being thrown through the air at high speeds, and crashed into the stands with the other Serpentine. As the Tornado died down, it revealed Nya and the four ninjas, who were all holding their Golden Weapons again.

"Now that's what I call a victory!" Cole shouted.

"But the fight's not over yet!" Nya said.

Upon seeing the defeat of their generals, the entire audience of Serpentine rushed out of the stands and charged towards the ninjas. Cole pressed forward, and raced to where the rescued prisoners were waiting. "We don't have time to fight them; we need to get the civilians out of here!"

But that was easier said than done. The Serpentine army quickly surrounded the ninjas and civilians, and threatened to block them in. The ninjas swiped their weapons at the advancing Serpentine, but they knew that they were about to get overrun by the snakes yet again.

"We need to use our elemental weapons at full power," Kai called out.

"No, that's not an option," Cole said bitterly. "We're too close to these people, and they might get hurt!"

"Then we'll just keep fighting to the very end," Kai said, swing his Dragon Sword of Fire. But as he took a step back, something strange began to happen, and the sword started to give off a green glow.

"What the..." Jay gasped, as the other three weapons also started to glow.

"We must be within close proximity of the Green Ninja!" Zane exclaimed.

"Is it Nya?" Jay asked.

"Can't be," Nya said, swiping her retrieved sword at the oncoming Serpentine. "They didn't glow around me earlier."

"Then who?" Kai asked, turning around to face the civilians. He pointed his sword at one, and the glowing got brighter. Kai blinked. "You're the Green Ninja?" He was looking at the Mailman.

The Mailman looked confused. "Now what's a Green Ninja?"

"Only the most powerful Ninja in the world!" Jay said, knocking back a Serpentine spear. "And we could really use his help right about now."

"Well, I could give it a try," the Mailman said, stepping forward. "My Spinjitzu's a bit rusty, but I was pretty good back in the day. I'll need a weapon though."

"Here, take my sword," Nya said.

"No thanks, miss, you're doing just fine with it," the Mailman said. "But this fellow could still use some practice with his, so I'll borrow it for now." Before Kai could respond, the Mailman yanked his Dragon Sword of Fire from his grasp.

"Now, how does the saying go?" the Mailman wondered. "Oh right... Ninjago!" He suddenly burst into a green cyclone, and sped into the oncoming Serpentine army. The Serpentine who tried to attack him were quickly knocked backwards by his formidable Spinjitzu powers. As he continued the attack, the other ninjas pushed forward and created an opening between the Serpentine, and quickly led the civilians outside the city of Ouroboros. Once they were in the clear, Cole and Zane transformed their weapons into vehicles, piled the civilians on top, and sped off towards civilization. Jay, Kai, and Nya continued to fight with the Serpentine until the Mailman finished his Spinjitzu attack. Then they escaped using Jay's jet and Nya's Samurai Mech.

Pythor shook his fist as he watch the ninjas' vehicles disappear over the horizon. "This isn't over ninjas! We Serpentine will get our revenge!"

"How will we do that, boss?" Skalidor asked.

Pythor narrowed his eyes. "It's time to unleash the most evil of the Serpentine on Ninjago. We must awaken the Great Devourer!"

The Serpentine around him gasped, but Pythor merely chuckled. Someday soon, revenge would be his again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sensei Wu met the ninjas at the edge of Ninjago city, where they were returning the captured civilians to their homes.

"Your tale of your adventure truly inspires me," Sensei Wu said. "You fought well, even without your weapons. Your training is indeed paying off."

Next, he turned to Nya. "And I had no idea you were Samurai X. You are truly skilled, Nya, and it would be my pleasure to have you join us in training."

"About time," Nya said under her breath. "I mean… that would be lovely, Sensei."

"I can show you all sorts of awesome moves," Jay said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "And we can run the obstacle course together and try and beat my best time."

"Oh, I beat that last week," Nya said.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"And that's not the only mystery we solved today," Kai said to Sensei Wu. "We also met the Green Ninja." He gestured towards the Mailman.

Sensei Wu bowed to the Mailman. "I have heard tales of your Spinjitzu excellence, but I never imagined you'd be the destined Green Ninja."

"News to me too," the Mailman said.

"Wait, I've never heard any of these tales before," Cole whispered.

"Well, if I remember correctly, he did do well in Spinjitzu tournaments many years ago," Zane replied. "But you would have to have looked through those old records to know that."

"Oh, that would explain it," Cole said. "Those things are really long and detailed, and can be boring to read."

"We would be honored if you would join us with our training," Sensei Wu said to the Mailman.

The Mailman shrugged. "It sounds nice. It would be good for me to work on my Spinjitzu again. But it can't be fulltime. I do have to deliver the mail across Ninjago, you know."

"And for that, we thank you for your service," Sensei Wu said.

"Things are looking up after all," Kai said. "We may not be able to defeat the Serpentine yet, but with my sister as Samurai X and the Green Ninja on our side, we clearly have the advantage! We'll do it for Ninjago!" he added, throwing his fist in the air.

"For Ninjago!" everybody else cried out triumphantly, and they all raised their arms into the evening air.

And so the sun set on yet another day on Ninjago. The Serpentine were still a threat, but the ninjas were now more willing than ever to face them and protect the people of Ninjago.


End file.
